This post is more conceptual. The next few posts will be much more prescriptive, with detailed step by step instructions, combined with all the code snippets, resulting in both Windows 8 Metro Clients and Windows Azure Cloud Servers, all running simultaneously on a single Windows 8 machine.

The untold story - a clear explanation of hosting a cloud-based, RESTful back-end for the a Windows 8 Metro client.

The client below demonstrates our high level purpose.

A series of postswill be presented here to explain how we can get Windows 8 Metro clients to consume cloud-hosted data and services.

In order for a Windows 8 Metro Application to host your custom data repositories, you will need to know the structure and layout of data from both the client and the server.

We will use WCF to return JSON data across http.

Data will be directly consumable from the Windows 8 Metro application.

The server software needed to create RESTful style of software architecture, returning JSON data to Windows 8 Clients will be Visual Studio 2010, along with the needed Windows Azure SDKs and Tools.

Windows 8 Metro Grid Applications

I love the Windows Metro 'Grid Template' that comes with the standard library of templates included in Visual Studio Express 2012 RC for Windows 8.

These templates give you an incredible amount of useful code to jump start your application development. There are various layout and interaction models.

I followed the Gridbuilt-in template that comes with Visual Studio 2012 RC.

The grid template is one of severalthat are provided by Visual Studio.

Some examples include:

Fixed layout

Grid app

Navigation app

Split app

The application we will build will work equally well with touch devices or mouse and keyboard.

With the techniques I demonstrate you will be able to create apps that will convey the Windows personality with an intuitive and consistent user experience.

Sample Application: From the Cloud to your Windows 8 Metro Grid Application Entry ScreenI created an application called Fast Motorcycle Application. It is similar to the Contoso cookbook example, but much simpler. The sample provides data models from both server and client that support a Windows 8 Metro Grid application.

This is the main entry screenfor the application.

Note that in each motorcycle photo originates from the cloud.

The image, the two captions in each photo are provided by the “SampleDataCommon” on the server.

There are also client side data structures as well.

Notice that there are two groups:

First Group: Sport Bikes

Second Group: Exotic Bikes

The server (scalable – more than one is possible) can be hosted in one of many Microsoft Global data centers.

All the data structures will be presented later.

GroupItemsPage.xaml - (first thing a user sees)

This is first of three screens.

It shows you group and items within groups.

The user can navigate to the other two screens from here:

The second screen is GroupDetailsPages.xaml

If you click on the group name, it will appear.

You will click on Sport Bikes or Exotic Bikes

It provides information about the group in general plus of list of individual group items.

The third screen is ItemDetailPage.xaml

It gives detail about an individual motorcycle

GroupDetailsPage.xaml (user clicks on category, like “Sport Bikes”)

This is second of three screens.

It shows you one group and items within that one group.

It provides information about the group in generalplus of list of individual group items.

ItemDetailsPage.xaml (user clicks on individual bike)

This is the third of three screens.

It shows you an individual item.

The user can navigate here by clicking on a specific motorcycle

Each motorcycle belongs to a group, such as Sport Bikes or Exotic Bikes